Ravens’ Tavon Young weighing options with neck injury

By TODD KARPOVICHAugust 17, 2019

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Baltimore Ravens cornerback Tavon Young is still weighing his options with his recent neck injury, coach John Harbaugh said Saturday.

Young, who signed a three-year, $25.8 million contract extension in February, suffered the injury during practice and he did not play in the second preseason game against the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night.

Young must decide whether to have season-ending surgery or possibly start the season on injured reserve with the hope of returning later.

“It’s still a decision that has to be made and that’s between really the doctors, and Tavon and his family, his agent and stuff like that,” Harbaugh said. “Ultimately, it’s the player’s decision about how he wants to handle the injury. I’m sure he’s getting some opinions. That’s what guys do. Certainly Tavon wants to play. That’s for sure. We’ll just have to see what happens.”

After spending the 2017 season on injured reserve with a torn ACL, Young played in 15 games last season despite being bothered by a groin injury. He had 34 tackles, an interception and two fumble returns for touchdowns.

The Ravens selected Young in the fourth round of the 2016 draft from Temple.

Following the game Thursday against Green Bay, Harbaugh was not optimistic about Young playing at all this season.

“Tavon has a more serious issue than we thought. He has a neck issue,” Harbaugh said at the time. “The doctors can explain it, but that’s a disk issue. That’s a serious injury. He could be out for the remainder of the season.

“There is an outside chance that you opt to try to see if it will heal, but we’re not recommending that right now, in his best interest. That’s always the first consideration, is his long-term well-being. If he gets the procedure done — I don’t want to speak too early — but if he gets it done, he’ll be fine and good to go. It’s probably the best thing to do.”